Thursday on TV: ABC retells real-life CIA scandal story

The Assets (9 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4) is an eight-part, fact-based miniseries set in 1985. A CIA counter-intelligence officer searches for a mole inside the agency.

It's based on the infamous Aldrich Ames case. And while the first couple of episodes of "The Assets" seem rather kindly disposed toward the CIA, it did take the agency nearly a decade to figure out that a guy who made $60,000 a year and was running up $30,000 a month in credit card bills was the mole.

The Big Bang Theory (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Sheldon tries to learn how to be funny.

The Taste (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Auditions begin in the season premiere of this cooking competition.

Community (7 and 7:30 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): This sitcom returns to NBC's lineup with a pair of new episodes and an old face behind the scene. Creator/executive producer Dan Harmon, who was fired after Season 3, is back in charge for Season 5.

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